Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Faux flowers.

 'Puppy' has been to the local vets for that operation. The poor wee thing is decidedly unhappy. For the next couple of days she will be confined to the farmers back garden. Her sisters are wisely giving her a wide berth. I don't think the old tee shirt she's wearing to cover the wound will last long.


The Indian gentleman who owns the souvenir shop next door to the church has new stock. Anyone wishing to buy a plastic giraffe or a Hamish MacPiper snow globe knows where to come. Today a range of  'I love Scotland' avocado dishes appear. They've been placed, upside down, in some chunky mugs that claim to be of Scottish design ( although I'll happily wager they're made somewhere closer to the Yellow River Delta ). We both look at the tartan avocado dishes and marvel at human creativity.


Mothers taking their children to primary school enjoy a brief burst of sunshine and stop to let a pair of ducks waddle contentedly down the road.


The hostelries that usually cater to a student clientele are now sprucing themselves up to attract a more diverse audience. Presumably faux flower displays send out a message of refinement and sophistication. The plastic hydrangeas wouldn't last a week during term time. Scotland has ( by some margin ) more university students per head of capita than any other country in the world so there will be a  lot of hostelries undergoing this summer makeover.


This was a fun ( and informative ) read.

11 comments:

Coppa's girl said...

Poor Puppy!
Will those shelves in the gift shop be empty by the end of summer, or will there be a "huge reductions" sale?

Angus said...

Coppa G - I'm sure the shelves will look exactly the same come the end of the summer. The local souvenir shops seem to work on a business model that expects a thousand high rolling Chinese to swoop in at any moment in search of a tartan clad Westie. This is a business plan that defies logic.

WFT Nobby said...

Nobby sympathises with Puppy and hopes she recovers quickly.
The borders book has been added to Gail's reading list and will be prioritised. She ponders the near nominative determinism of the author's surname.

jabblog said...

Poor Puppy!
I wouldn't like to be the one with the job of dusting those shelves.

rottrover said...

I think those avocado bowls are spoon rests. Who would buy a plastic giraffe o a trip to the Scottish coast??

Lisa in France said...

The borders book is in my shopping cart as well - a fun book about borders, who could resist? The article about Boeing was very interesting. Some companies do have distinct cultures and personalities and once they've developed, it seems very hard to get everyone to change course. Best wishes to Puppy.

Anonymous said...

I was at the local Goodwill yesterday and told the friend I was with that this is where old souvenirs go to die. So much plastic and just plain tacky looking items. Except for the obviously old and handcrafted copper tea kettle inscribed “souvenir of Newfoundland” that was in the sweet but I’m not buying it categotpry.

10NISNE1 said...

Speedy recovery, Puppy!

Stephanie said...

Best wishes for Puppy's recovery.

Jake of Florida said...

Angus, do puppies in your area wear a cone to prevent incision damage or just a tee shirt or onesie??? Best wishes, Puppy!

Angus said...

Jake of F - The cone lasted all of half an hour.